Democratic Republic of Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rooted in Trust is working to analyze the impacts of pandemic-related information in the eastern part of the country, particularly in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika, with a focus on displaced people, women, and youth engaged in cross-border petty trade, in order to provide information and communication responses that will enable community members to make informed decisions about their health and about individual and collective responses to COVID-19.

This region bordering other Great Lakes countries is plagued by conflict and humanitarian crises, aggravated in recent years by a recent Ebola epidemic and compounded by the VIDOC pandemic.19 The displaced people in this region remain a major concern for the health of the population. Displaced people in this region remain a more marginalized category whose access to information about COVID-19 and the vaccine is a major challenge, exposing them in turn to misinformation.

We are working with :

Pole Institute: an action research institute, specializing in conflict prevention and resolution. This partner will focus on advocacy, communication and training as its main actions guided by the results of its research.

AFEM (Association des Femmes des Médias du Sud Kivu): a non-profit organization specialized in communication and media. It aims at promoting the rights of women and children, and works for the guarantee of gender equality and the consolidation of peace.

UCOFEM (Union Congolaise des Femmes de Média): A non-profit organization that works for the promotion of women in and through the media in the DRC. It specializes in communication and media with a focus on lobbying and advocacy for women journalists.

From the point of view of humanitarian coordination, RIT produces humanitarian bulletins in order to facilitate the adaptation of actions to fight the pandemic based on the needs of the population. RIT participates in health and protection clusters in each of the 4 target provinces, namely North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituti and Tanganyika province.

Rooted in Trust brings together nearly 100 listening clubs made up of women, youth, internally displaced persons and cross-border traders who are the target of the project. These groups are a tool for exchange and discussion about the pandemic at COVID-19 and allow for the collection of rumors about the pandemic as well as socio-cultural barriers to vaccination against it.

For more information, contact the Project Manager, Pascal Chirhalwirwa – Email: [email protected] – Tel: +243 823 489 866